1. How to make the perfect burger at home
There‟s been a real shift in attitudes towards
burgers recently. No longer are they considered to
be the simple food choice of the hung-over. All
over London it seems to be fashionable to set up
gourmet-style burger restaurants. These include
chains such as Byron Burger or Gourmet Burger
Kitchen but also lesser known eateries such as
Honest Burger in Brixton Market or Elliot‟s cafe in
Borough Market.
But, for me, nothing beats a Big Mac: except the
ones I‟ve been making at home. Here are my top
tips for burger success!
Firstly, fat is good. NEVER use lean or finely
ground beef in a burger or else you‟ll be chewing a
patty with the texture of cardboard and flavour of
a flipflop. Juicy burgers need juice and that juice should come from meat with approximately
20-25% fat content. As Malcolm in the Middle teaches us “Fat is the road by which flavour
travels.”
Talk to your butcher and ask for mince from chuck steak. Then, when you get home, take
mince out of the packet and season generously with salt. Most people would then mash the
meat together until it sticks together in patty shapes or even add breadcrumbs or an egg to
bind the meat.
The truth is these aren‟t needed, all you need is patience. If you roll the mince into a
sausage shape (with the strands going the length of the roll) and leave it in the fridge, the
salt will breakdown the meat and make it stick together. A few hours later take the sausage-
shaped roll out, flatten it and season generously again with black pepper, very finely
chopped onion, and whichever herbs you want.
Then roll it back into a fatter sausage shape. Think of the way you would slice chorizo and
this is how you make your burgers. Because of the way the strands of meat are aligned, the
patty will break up easily in your mouth, making a mouth watering texture.
Fry the burgers in a little butter on a high heat to seal in the flavour.
Cook to your chosen finish, all because Burger King cooks theirs to a leather texture, doesn‟t
mean it‟s the right way to eat a burger.
For the „secret‟ Big Mac sauce, whisk mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish and yellow mustard
together with vinegar, garlic powder, onion power and paprika to taste.
For six burgers follow these ingredients:

2. 1 tbsp oil or butter
1 onion, very finely chopped
1kg roughly minced chuck steak (or any non-lean mince)
2 tsp chopped herbs (parsley or thyme work well)
Salt
Black pepper